Sailboat falls of trailer on the 401 (Highway in Canada)

[NorthCoastJoe]

I saw a boat pass its tow vehicle once on 101, it was a speed boat that was faster than its truck.

[sailingchiro]

They needed the outboard inorder to drive it off the highway.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by hamburking

Also, I'm wondering why this might have happened?

Hard to tell without more information. There's a flat on the trailer, maybe the tire was old or underinflated. Maybe the tow vehicle was undersized. Maybe they didn't use WD bars even though they needed them. Maybe they didn't have good electric brakes, or they didn't work, so they couldn't control the trailer when it started fishtailing.


Pulling a heavy trailer, you have to get everything right. Tires. Brakes. Hitch including WD if necessary. Suitable tow vehicle. Tiedowns. Lights.


My present trailer sailor has factory brakes and they are surge brakes on one axle only. Not ideal. I take it short distances at lower speeds (55 mph) but would not take it on a freeway trip without better brakes and new tires.

Personally, I definitely would have removed the outboard and put it in the tow vehicle...or at least below in the boat. As I understand it, weight aft when towing is very bad.

Depends on the overall setup. I'm on my second trailer sailor, and both were set up so that the balance was good even with the outboard installed. And in reality, 100 pounds isn't that much on a 7000 pound load.

[Jahwork]

Hola fellow mariners,

Not trying to steal your thread but since we are talking about dropping boats.....

Having been an emergency responder for over 30 years I have had more than my share of opportunities to see all matter of watercraft in places and positions they shouldn’t be. Also having worked at a marina, with a small 40 ton travel lift, I was always very nervous about dropping or damaging a boat. A couple weeks ago I witnessed first hand what for me takes the cake. If you have never heard of the MV Triton take a moment and look it up. It is a 168’ mega yacht. My little old marina happens to be right next door to a large mega yacht construction/maintenance facility here in Seattle. This yacht had been in the “barn” for over 10 months for new paint and a major mechanical and cosmetic refit. I thought it interesting that when they would haul this boat in the past they would always remove both anchors, all the chain, and all the dinghies/jet skis and other toys prior to haul out. I never saw this done with other boats they haul out. In talking to a yard worker a few months back I asked him about this and he told me the boat is right at the maximum weight limit of this travel lift, which is 440 tons, and as such they remove as much weight as possible including ensuring all the tankage is at or near empty as well. A couple weeks ago i was watching the boat being taken out to the launch site alongside a few of my dock mates when a huge boom resonated throughout the marina and the stern plummeted into the water sending a gigantic wave our way. Dock hands jumped off the dock into the river and the high pitched whine of the travel lift hydraulics and engine could be heard as the vessel fell. We then watched the following several hours of panic as the boat was slowly falling back into the water, the stern and rudders were stuck in the muddy river bottom which appeared to be the only thing that kept it from falling off the forward slings. and they were scrambling to set up pumps as the now open stern doors we’re allowing flooding of the boat. It was an impressive site to see. Wish I had a video running. But these pics tell the rest of the story.

It now sits at the dock with some pretty significant damage to the stern and port side as they await the repair of the travel lift to haul it out. I am curious what condition the rudders and props will be in. Maybe the soft silty river bottom helped to minimize the damage. I am guessing the rudders, at the very least, are rather bent.

Safe journeys all,
~Jake

[Lazy1]

I wonder if that is a recovery trailer? Who owns a bright yellow trailer for a small sailboat?


Couldn't see it but if it was not strapped down it could easily pull out the bow eye.

[Heathenly Twins]

What happened was the driver was driving like an Ontarian, lol. Not even going to say sorry or just kidding XD

[kmacdonald]

Weather forecast went wrong.

[wingssail]

It is very easy for a boat and trailer rig to get oscillating behind the tow vehicle, even with the proper weight distribution. You just cannot swerve.

Once towing one of my powerboats down the freeway at 60mph a car swerved across my lane just ahead of me, aiming for the off ramp on the other side of the six lane highway.

I yanked the steering wheel to miss him then looked in my rear view mirror to see my trailer going wildly back and forth on one wheel then the other, boat hanging on by the bow eye looking plenty scared. Me too.

Gradually, and gently, I slowed down and stopped, and found my boat about two feet off of the center of my trailer.

After that I had better tie downs and drove a bit more cautiously down the freeway.

[Don C L]

I'm betting that flat on the right front is the culprit.

[Philipcataproa]

I once saw a 23 ft sailboat come off the trailer on highway due to wind after some trees, the boat luckily landed on the shoulder without and visible scratches. I think it was not strapped on well.
I moved my own 26 ft trailer sailor 1500 km without a problem but had two 4 Ton straps over the boat directly over the pads.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Lazy1

I wonder if that is a recovery trailer? Who owns a bright yellow trailer for a small sailboat?

In the last picture you can see that the trailer's left guide and fender are both mashed down, so it's possibly the one...? Although it doesn't look like it accommodates the keel stub very well.

Yellow is just paint. I painted our trailer a lovely deep blue.

But yeah, this is the trailer-sailor's nightmare for sure. Doesn't seem like it was strapped to the trailer.

I've always felt that in highway traffic moving at speed, if you're braking a lot, you're following too closely, and when trailering you have to allow even more space because of your longer stopping distance and the possibility of whipping the trailer. When trailering on a multilane highway like the 401, I just do a steady speed in the right lane, maybe sit behind a semi, leave lots of space, and think about the launch at the end of the trip. We have maybe 8000 km on our boat trailer without a serious incident, touch wood.

When we first got our boat, I thought the tongue weight was too light so I moved the winch post forward maybe 6" and it made a difference. Also, I don't like the idea of the outboard bouncing on the transom, so I usually put it in the truck/SUV. Rudder is off too.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

when trailering you have to allow even more space because of your longer stopping distance and the possibility of whipping the trailer.

With proper trailer brakes and a modern brake controller this is longer the case.


I put thousands of miles on our Airstream, 8200 pounds, heavier than most trailer sailors. Most of them were with a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban with a Maxbrake controller and when the transfer case on that died I got new F-250 which has the integrated controller from the factory. Either way the entire rig would stop more or less the same as the tow vehicle alone.


Similar performance with the trailer for my Morgan 250 after I redid the brakes. New, electric, loaded backing plates were around $500 for a set of 4 and there was some wiring. Essentially these are all the brake components except for the drums, which rarely require replacement on trailers. Not a difficult project and I did the work myself.


Hydraulic disc brakes with an electric actuator will perform better chiefly due to there being less fade on long downgrades or with repeated applications of brakes at a series of lights. Also thought to be less susceptible to corrosion from exposure to salt.

[GordMay]

I agree /w everything Lake-Effect said, except I question one’s ability to “sit behind a semi, leave lots of space”.
I’ve always found that some idiot will always come along to fill any appreciable space.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Jammer

With proper trailer brakes and a modern brake controller this is longer the case.

Agreed. Sadly, most boat trailers have crap brakes or no brakes, mostly because people are afraid of having to maintain them around water (and they add cost).

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Jammer

With proper trailer brakes and a modern brake controller this is longer the case.

To each their own, I guess. I find that most drivers do not allow enough space in front of them (you should be 2 seconds or more behind the vehicle in front), and if trailering I like to allow more.

Originally Posted by GordMay

I agree /w everything Lake-Effect said, except I question one’s ability to “sit behind a semi, leave lots of space”.
I’ve always found that some idiot will always come along to fill any appreciable space.

Heh. If the semi is running at 0.1% or more below the speed limit, I find that most personal vehicles won't sit there for long.